Favourite Irish entrepreneur?

Sandals

Who's your favourite Irish entrepreneur and why?

whiskeyman

Tony Ryan... surname says it.

Nuttzz

Michael O'Leary, annonying personality but when you can get a return flight to dublin for about the same price as the return fare in a taxi to the airport you have to hand it to him on changing the european air market

ronbyrne2005

o'leary-muppet ,arrogant without reason,he got very lucky,wanted to shut down airline when he joined it,just copied south western airlines in usa ,hasnt done anything really entrepreneurial and nothing outside of ryanair like other businesses
dennis o'brien is a better entrepreneur and has made money in several businesses but i think he got very lucky with the first mobile licence,failed to pass maths in school ,heard he was a prick when at ryanair ,so much so that boeing executives wouldnt deal with ryanair if o'brien was in same room.

dermot desmond is probably my favorite

whiskeyman

Nuttzz wrote:

Michael O'Leary, annonying personality but when you can get a return flight to dublin for about the same price as the return fare in a taxi to the airport you have to hand it to him on changing the european air market

O'Leary isn't an entrepreneur. He's a shrewd businessman.
Tony Ryan is the founder (and entrepreneur) of Ryanair.
Worth doing a bit more reading

rugbug86

geoff read - really set the ball rolling on making money from one of natures most plentyful resource!

Culchie

I like what Brodie Sweeney has done with O'Brien Sandwich Bars ...he took that from scratch and well before the Cappochino culture hit Ireland.

Also like Desmonds investments, especially Daon biometrics.

whiskeyman

Culchie wrote:

I like what Brodie Sweeney has done with O'Brien Sandwich Bars ...he took that from scratch and well before the Cappochino culture hit Ireland.

True, but I feel O'Bs really missed the boat on the coffee-culture that was about to explode.
They really were in a position to grasp and maintain a dominant position but let it slip IMO.
Perhaps the brand became too synonymous with sandwiches for it's own good.

ronbyrne2005

brodie sweeney! dont make me laugh. setting up a few sandwich shops aint much to write home about compared to most international entrpreneurs,just copied every other sandwich chain in the world and got lucky with timing as many businessmen do

jetsonx

well Sweeney did not just a of copy a template..it takes a hell
of alot of vision and leadership skills to set up a chain of outlets like he
did....not to mention the hard work.

he's a decent guy but like the previous poster you I think there is absolutely nothing about OB's that you could write home about....

The rolls and their fillings are bland and not very imaginative or very tasty for
that matter. The seating is all cramped in most of their outlets and their idea of an imaginative side order is f"cking a few crisps on the side of your plate...Statoil make nicer sandwiches infact!

Nuttzz

whiskeyman wrote:

O'Leary isn't an entrepreneur. He's a shrewd businessman.
Tony Ryan is the founder (and entrepreneur) of Ryanair.
Worth doing a bit more reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneurs

I think O'Leary fits into this category

jetsox wrote:

The rolls and their fillings are bland and not very imaginative or very tasty for
that matter. The seating is all cramped in most of their outlets and their idea of an imaginative side order is f"cking a few crisps on the side of your plate

I agree, yet O'Briens are everywhere, they killed their competition in Park West in DUblin for example, Yet they have still created an international brand

fullirish

Gillian Bowler - did a super job with Budget Travel at a time when men had the run of the place !

whiskeyman

Nuttzz wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneurs

I think O'Leary fits into this category

Nope. I disagree..... (and don't you know Wiki is in trouble with its definitions... ).
Despite the fact he actually won a "Entrepreneur of the year award", if you read into O'Learys history, and that of Ryanair's, you will see he is far from the true meaning of the word.
Although I respect O'Leary (to some degree), there was a lot more people who assisted to Ryanair's success other than him that rarely get mentioned.
I'll still stick to him as being an extremely shrewd businessman in the proper context.

Nuttzz

fair enough, this isnt the thread for it anyway

I'm surprised there no Denis O'Brien fans here

jrey1981

What about the guys who started daft.ie ?

Fitzer12345

I'd have to agree with Whiskeyman on Tony Ryan. GPA was a great company until their attempt at a floatation. Even his ability to spot talent, its no co-incidence he hired O'Brien and O'Leary. I thinkl he also had plans for a pan-european satellite network in the late 80's before anyone was into satellites, but RTE and Telecom werent allowed invest. Imagine what kind of business that would be now.

ronbyrne2005

jrey1981 wrote:

What about the guys who started daft.ie ?

is that site making any money?? just looks like a standard classifieds site to me

drdre

defo o'leary.he is an actor but great at making money

Redmon

Sean Quinn, a man who epitomises what an entrepreneur shoudl be: shrewd, successful and not a self-publicist.

Investing in 'boring' is always the practical, as well as rewarding.

REDZ

yeah sean quinn
I saw him driving his own car a few months ago, pretty down to earth for a billionaire, and his daughter is a hottie.
I like JP McManus and Dermot Desmond as well

Pod 78

what about the guys who started up blueface.ie the VoIP service or smart telecom

mickey1979

i think they are all great to make money is a mixture of many things luck hard work willingness to avoid legality at times been risky by nature and greed

irishunion.com

whiskeyman wrote:

Nope. I disagree..... (and don't you know Wiki is in trouble with its definitions... ).
Despite the fact he actually won a "Entrepreneur of the year award", if you read into O'Learys history, and that of Ryanair's, you will see he is far from the true meaning of the word.
Although I respect O'Leary (to some degree), there was a lot more people who assisted to Ryanair's success other than him that rarely get mentioned.
I'll still stick to him as being an extremely shrewd businessman in the proper context.

If i sell you a shoe for 10 euro, i'm considered an entrepreneur,(i know you'll buy a pair) and if you ask me for the second shoe i charge you 100 euro, i'm also an entrepreneur (crook). If i sell you a brand new merc for 5 euro i'm also an entrepreneur (stupid).
I believe wiskeyman you have to say that Tony Ryan is a better entrepreneur than David O'Leary.

Kersh

Mansfield, look at what he has built up.

starn

Gotta say Dennis O Brien. The guy is a complete shyster. He made a fortune selling Digifone to O2, and he went on to repeat his success in the carribian. I was given a tour of O2's new headquaters today on Sir John Rogerson Quay. They have a timeline for Digifone/O2 in the reception. I have to say I was dissapointed to see that they dont have the original Brown envelope Obrien gave O'Leary

Bill Finnerty

It has to be Michael O'Leary!

SouperComputer

Mansfield, look at what he has built u

I was only talkin about him to someone today. Some eejits trashed the new airport building at weston it seems

Rockee

Brian Boru.

Dubhelp

Very few of the above mentioned people are true entrepreneurs. A certain DOB had his Daddy cheque book to call upon when he got in trouble.

Dermot Desmond is a true entrepreneur and put the IFSC into Dublin, what more can an entrepreneur do. He also ahs backed a lot of people to make money.

CGorman

whiskeyman wrote:

Nope. I disagree..... (and don't you know Wiki is in trouble with its definitions... ).
Despite the fact he actually won a "Entrepreneur of the year award", if you read into O'Learys history, and that of Ryanair's, you will see he is far from the true meaning of the word.
Although I respect O'Leary (to some degree), there was a lot more people who assisted to Ryanair's success other than him that rarely get mentioned.
I'll still stick to him as being an extremely shrewd businessman in the proper context.

I believe the correct word... as thought in every Leaving Cert business class is "Intrapreneur".

My favorites - Sean Quinn & Dermot Desmond

Farls

I'm going with Sean Quinn on this as well. Being a Cavan man also and a neighbour. He's one of the richest men in Ireland and UK and is still mainly down to earth. All of his family have never forgotten where they come from i mean his son still drives an old passat and he has the same range rover the past 5/6 years.

He shows what hard work, a good business sense and a bit of luck can achieve